1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of upward acting sectional doors such as those used on garages and the like, and more particularly to an improved hinge for use on such doors which prevents a person from pinching his or her fingers between door sections when closing the door.
2. Description of the Related Art
Upward acting sectional doors are commonly used on garages, airplane hangars, warehouses, and other buildings where relatively large door openings must be selectively opened and closed. The doors are generally comprised of a plurality of horizontal sections joined together by hinges. Each door section is carried by rollers positioned at opposite ends thereof which engage respective roller tracks attached to the building on opposite sides of the door opening. Each door track includes a vertical portion proximate the door opening and a generally horizontal portion located above the door opening and perpendicular to the wall in which the door opening is formed. The vertical and horizontal portions of the door tracks are joined by arcuately curved portions.
The door rolls along the roller tracks between a closed position wherein the door covers the door opening and a raised position wherein the door is positioned on the horizontal portions of the roller tracks above the door opening in generally parallel relation to the floor. In order to move between the open and closed positions, the door must traverse the arcuate portion of the door tracks, and therefore it is required that the door be able to bend along the joints between the sections.
Upward acting sectional doors are provided with either torsional or extension springs which bias the door into the raised position in order to make them easier to open. A handle is generally provided proximate the bottom of the door for a user to grasp in order to raise and lower the door.
A common problem with upward acting sectional doors is that conventional hinges generally have their pivot pins spaced outwardly from the interior surface of the door such that fairly large gaps are created at the outside of the door along the joint when the door is opened. These gaps fold together when the door is pulled closed. Many users tend to grasp the door by the edges of the door sections instead of using the handle when pulling the door closed. Operating the door in this manner can cause the user""s fingers or hands to be pinched between the door sections as they come together during closing. Inattentive bystanders are also subject to getting body parts caught in the joints as the doors close. Serious and painful injuries can result from these pinching accidents.
Most previous attempts so solve this problem have involved moving the pivot pin of the door hinge to a point located between the interior and exterior planes of the door and providing the door sections with mating arcuate top and bottom surfaces. This design allows the top and bottom surfaces of the door sections to rotate in close relation to one another so that no gap large enough to get a finger into is created when the door is opened. Doors of this general type are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,002,114; 5,782,283; 5,913,352; 5,921,307; 6,076,590; and 6,098,697.
Some of these designs, such as those disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,002,114 and 6,098,697 require the use of door panels with elaborate mating surfaces which are expensive and difficult to construct. Other designs, such as those disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,782,283; 5,913,352; and 5,921,307 are only well suited for use with non-insulated, single skin, metal doors where access to the interior of the door is not an issue. To adapt the designs shown by this second group of patents for use with a hollow core, solid core, or insulated door, pockets such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,590 would have to be provided. These pockets are undesirable because they weaken the door and decrease its insulating value.
What is needed is a garage door having simple and efficient pinch resistant hinges which do not have a pivot pin that must be installed between the interior and exterior planes of the door.
The present invention comprises an upward acting sectional door wherein the lower edge of each door panel (with the exception of the lowermost panel) includes an elongated foot which extends downwardly from the lower edge proximate the outer surface of the door panel. The lower edge slopes upwardly from the foot toward the inner surface of the door panel. The lower edge further includes an elastomeric door seal for engaging the upper edge of the adjacent panel when the door is in the closed position and sealing the joint. The upper edge of each panel (with the exception of the uppermost panel) includes a ledge proximate the outer surface of the door panel for engaging the foot of the adjacent panel when the door is in the closed position. The upper edge slopes upwardly from the ledge toward the inner surface of the door panel.
Adjacent door panels are connected to one another by a plurality of hinges. Each hinge comprises a top member fastened to the inner surface of the upper door panel and a base member fastened to the inner surface of the lower door panel. The top member is connected to the base member by a short link and a long link; each of the links having a first end pivotally connected to the top member and a second end pivotally secured to the base member. The hinges are enclosed so that a user cannot easily be pinched by the internal components of the hinges.
The geometry of the hinge links insures that the foot of each door panel is always spaced less than nine millimeters from said upper edge of the adjacent panel, even when the door is in the fully open position. This close spacing between the panels does not provide sufficient clearance for a person to interpose a fingertip into the joint where it can be pinched. The foot also acts to push a fingertip positioned proximate the respective joint away from said joint as said door moves from the open position to the closed position.
The geometry of the hinges also acts to aids in the sealing of the joints between the panels. The door seal of each panel moves so as to engage the upper edge of the adjacent panel when the door is in the closed position, but lifts away from the upper edge as the door moves from the closed position toward the open position. This movement of the door seal relative to the adjacent panel prevents the seal from dragging against the adjacent panel and wearing prematurely.